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Self steer is off course court
Page 6
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EALING magistrates imposed a £75 fine on Tate and Lyle for overloading a Bedford TK van fitted with a Ceschi-type Primrose selfsteering centre axle and fined driver James Thornton £25 and endorsed his licence.
The company was also fined £150 for operating a vehicle with excessive rear overhang.
Sugar deliveries will not be affected by the magistrates court decision which put over 50 Tate and Lyle vans off the road last week.
The van, one of around 160 built for Tate and Lyle, (see 'No steer from rear' CM April 28) had a 2.6m (8ft 8in) rear overhang, assuming that the overhang was measured from the midpoint of the two rear axles.
The magistrates held that, as the Ceschi axle did not influence the vehicle's steering, it was not part of the steering mechanism, so the overhang could not be calculated as being from the midpoint of the rear axle. While the court decision affected only the vehicle involved in the Ealing hearing, the company has had all of the Ceschi-fitted vehicles withdrawn from service.
Following the pattern of two pilot conversions some time ago, all of the vehicles had their Ceschi axles removed in local workshops prior to being replated at around three tons less than before.
Tate and Lyle Transport group standards engineer Alan Matthews told CM this week that this had been achieved by workshop staff and he added that Department of Transport testing and plating staff had been "extremely co-operative" over the matter.
Over the next month, all but 19 of the vans — they are due for early replacement — will have the rear overhang cut back prior to reinstallation of the Ceschi axles. They will then be replated at around 7.5 to 10.5 tons.
The company estimates that the cost of converting these vans with the subsequent loss of payload and the cost of hiring additional vehicles could cost up to £200,000 over the next 18 months. In addition, the loss of payload could affect the resale value of the vans.
Some of the first-stage modified vans are back in use but the gap in carrying capacity has been met by hiring in additional vehicles and reinstating a number of withdrawn vehicles.
Deputy chief executive Leslie Fenn said this week that the company required 40 additional vehicles to maintain deliveries late last week.
While Tate and Lyle has responded speedily to the court's decision, the biggest headache for the DTp will be to trace the 100 or more Ceschi-fitted vans now sold by Tate and Lyle.
Tate and Lyle has still to decide whether or not it will appeal against the court decision.